By Maher Chmaytelli and Raya Jalabi BAGHDAD/MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqis voted on Saturday for the first time since the defeat of Islamic State, with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, a rare ally of both the United States and Iran, trying to fend off powerful Shi’ite groups that would pull the country closer to Tehran. Iraqis expressed pride at the prospect of voting for the fourth time since the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein, but also said they had scant hope that the election would stabilize a country beset by conflicts, economic hardship and corruption. Turnout was 44.52 percent with 92 percent of the votes counted, the Independent High Electoral Commission said, significantly lower than in previous elections.

Iraqis on Saturday inflicted a blow on a political class they view as corrupt by shunning the first legislative elections since victory over Islamic State jihadists. More than half of the nearly 24.5 million voters did not show up at the ballot box in the parliamentary election, the highest abstention rate since the first multiparty elections in 2005, although it passed off largely peacefully. One policeman was killed and five wounded by mortar in eastern Iraq, a local official said, but there were no major incidents.

While Americans have been looking the other way, Iraqis are preparing to vote for Parliament, even in devastated areas like Mosul. In an optimistic sign for democracy, for the first time the parties aren’t divided strictly by religion.

Aaron Persky, the judge who faced intense criticism for sentencing ex-Stanford swimmer Brock Turner to a short jail term for sexual assault, broke his silence Tuesday ahead of next month's vote to recall him from the bench.

By Tom Perry, Laila Bassam and Ellen Francis BEIRUT (Reuters) – Hezbollah and its political allies won just over half the seats in Lebanon’s parliamentary election, unofficial results showed, boosting an Iranian-backed movement fiercely opposed to Israel and underlining Tehran’s growing regional clout. Hezbollah’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, called it a “political and moral victory” for the “resistance”, as the group refers to itself and allies. Branded a terrorist group by the United States, the heavily armed Shi’ite Hezbollah has grown in strength since joining the war in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad in 2012.

By Tom Perry and Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah and its allies expect to emerge stronger from a parliamentary election on Sunday, a result that would affirm Iran’s regional ascendancy from Tehran to Beirut. The Western-backed Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, Lebanon’s leading Sunni, is meanwhile battling to limit losses he is expected to suffer in the first parliamentary election in nine years. A majority for the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its allies would underline a balance of power already tilted in favor of the heavily armed Shi’ite group, and the diminished role of Saudi Arabia in a country where it once held big sway.